


The devil went down to Berk

by vala411



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Demons, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-08-26 06:06:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16675963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vala411/pseuds/vala411
Summary: Astrid is in a spot of trouble when she accidentally summons a demon, or maybe it's no trouble at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Title: The devil went down to Berk**

**AN: This is for a oneshot challenge with LadikThrawn**

**Prompt:You walk into a dark room with strange markings on the ground. You think someone tried to paint something until you accidentally cut yourself and spill your blood onto those markings and they start glowing. You slowly start to lose consciousness, but not before seeing a tall jet black person standing before you saying "You have freed me. Thus I will be forever in your debt." You woke up with a strange mark on your hand. 'What did I get myself into.' You think-**

**Conditions: Minimum 5000 words**

**Pairings: Astrid/Eret and Astrid/Hiccup**

“Eret?” Astrid called as she entered the dark apartment. “Eret? Where in the world are you?” she called out again as she tried to find a light switch in the dark. Why the apartment was so dark could be anyone’s guess. “I swear if you called me here just to stand me up again……” Astrid stopped when she walked a little further into the very dark apartment and her foot hit something on the floor. Even the curtains were drawn so it was hard for her to see what clattered on the wooden floors. She squinted to see what she had knocked over while searching in her bag for her phone so that she’d at least have some light.

Astrid could make out some strange markings on the floor and wondered if Eret drew those. She smiled as she finally felt her phone in the clutter that was her handbag but winced when she pricked her finger on her knitting needles. “Aaah!” Astrid sucked her bleeding finger into her mouth but didn’t notice that a droplet of blood had landed on the weird symbols on the floor. She let out a gasp as the floor suddenly started glowing. Well, the strange markings she noticed had started glowing and with the light they were emanating she was able to see that she had kicked over an iron candle holder with a thick black candle in it. ‘Where does one even find black candles?’ she mused not fully comprehending what was happening. For all she knew this was just some elaborate hoax by her soon-to-be ex-husband to make her seem crazy. It wouldn’t be the first time either.

The air in the apartment became thick and Astrid swore she could smell something like sulfur in the air. She was getting a bit dizzy and didn’t immediately notice the thick mist that was settling over the floor. Astrid had to cover her eyes with her arm as the glow got brighter and brighter. She was swaying when the light finally dissipated. Astrid opened her mouth but no words came out as she gawked at the black-winged figure that had appeared in the middle of the apartment. Suddenly the full dizziness took over and her head was spinning. She pitched forward only to be caught by the strong arms of the mysterious figure. “You have freed me,” she could faintly hear the person speaking. “So I will be forever in your debt.” That was the last thing she remembered before finally succumbing to the darkness.

When Astrid finally woke up she found herself tucked in neatly in her bed. She frowned and wondered if the whole thing had been an odd dream but then she noticed the weird mark on the back of her hand. It was shaped like a curling dragon and completely jet black. “What in th-” Astrid didn’t remember getting another tattoo and this wouldn’t have been the spot she would have put it either. It was all so strange but Astrid stopped thinking about that when she noticed the clock on her nightstand read 14:30. “Ah Thor, I’m gonna be late!” She shouted before sprinting out of bed.

Astrid was glad that she was already dressed. She quickly grabbed her car keys from the bowl on her dresser, her phone, and her purse before stepping into her small living room. She was intent to be there on time but a strange person on her couch stopped her in her tracks.

“Hi Astrid!” The boy, auburn-haired and with a lankiness that resembled a fishbone, waved at her cheerfully from her couch where he was leaving through one of her Cosmopolitan magazines.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” Astrid shrieked as she was immediately on guard. ‘How in tarnation did some strange teen get into her apartment?’ She thought and grabbed the nearest thing she could find as a weapon. Said nearest thing happened to be her daughter’s potted cactus plant.

“Now now……” The man said as he stepped back cautiously. “Why don’t we put down the cactus and talk?”

“Why don’t you get out of my apartment!”

“I’m afraid that that isn’t possible until you fulfill the contract,” the stranger said in a nasally voice.

“WHAT CONTRACT?!” Astrid still had the plant aimed at the intruder but she frowned. “Are you working for my husband or one of his attorneys?!”

“What?! No!” the other now said as he tried to placate Astrid. “Look, let me just show you my business card.” With that, he reached into his back pocket and produced a small black card. Astrid took it with some suspicion and read:

 **Hiccup Haddock the 3rd**  
EVIL inc. CEO  
 _For all your devilish needs_

“You’re kidding me right?” She raised a brow incredulously.

“We’ve been in business for 8372 years now,” Hiccup told her. “Now you freed me from Hell with the summoning circle so I’m obligated to grant you your deepest desire.”

“Riiiggghttt… So you expect me to believe that some…. What are you? 15 years old?” She asked “Is some demon from Hell that I somehow made a contract with?”

“Well, I’m not exactly 15.” Hiccup mumbled. “Here let me show you,” he then said before changing before Astrid’s eyes into an older version of himself. Much closer to her age.

“OH MY THOR!” Astrid shrieked again as she backed into the wall. The cactus was held up threateningly once more as Hiccup, now looking like someone in his early twenties, rolled his eyes. “Can you please put the cactus down? While you aren’t the most skeptical of the humans I’ve worked for, it is still odd to be talking to someone who can and probably will whack you with a spiky plant at a moment’s notice.” He then added “Besides don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Astrid’s eyes flew to her watch and she cursed. The clock now read 14:48 and she wouldn’t make it to her destination in time. Hiccup saw this and offered “Look it’s my fault you’re running late. Why don’t I pop you over and back once you’re done?”

“Pop me over?” Astrid asked in confusion. “Like teleporting?”

“Yeah, just tell me where you need to be.”

“Well that’s awfully generous.” Astrid was considering the idea and she glanced at her watch again. ‘I’m never going to make it there in time, in this traffic and in my old jalopy,’ she thought bitterly before glancing back at Hiccup. “Alright. I’ll trust you to do this. But no funny business.” She wagged her finger at him.

“Of course M’lady,” Hiccup chuckled as he indicated for her to take his hand. “Now where to?”

“Dragon’s Edge Primary Academy,” Astrid told him and they were gone in a puff of black smoke before she even finished blinking. Hiccup poofed them into a nearby alleyway and Astrid clutched the wall in order to catch her breath. The whole thing had shocked her. “Easy now,” Hiccup said. “Some people need to get used to this the first few times,”

Astrid took a breath and tried to calm herself. “I’m good,” she told Hiccup. “Where are we?”

“Across from the school,” Hiccup gestured and Astrid gaped before looking at her watch again, 14:53 it read and the pair crossed the street to wait with the parents picking up their children.

Hiccup was just standing next to Astrid looking around at how the city had changed since the last time he was there. Sure he’d seen most of it on Hell’s news channels, having to keep up with current events for his job, but to see it in person was still something else. Hiccup looked around at those gathered by the school gates and caught some of the older ladies staring and whispering. ‘Gossipers’ his mind supplied. He wondered why they were staring in his and Astrid’s direction. There was nothing of interest to see here.

“Don’t bother with them,” Astrid sighed as she whispered to Hiccup. “It won’t stop their wagging tongues.” Hiccup was going to ask why they would be talking about Astrid when the school bell rang. Soon an army of little humans descended towards the gates and Hiccup had to move aside quickly or possibly get trampled.

“Munchkin!” Hiccup saw Astrid shout as a small blonde-haired girl jumped into her arms. The little girl giggled and greeted “Hello Mommy!” After the tender moment Astrid turned to Hiccup and introduced them. “Honey this is Hiccup, Hiccup meet my daughter Ariana.”

“Hiya Mister!!!” The girl gave a cheerful wave and then turned to her mother to ask “Is he your new boyfriend?” causing both Astrid and Hiccup to choke.

“No...No…..” Astrid quickly said. “Hiccup is a…. He’s a friend.” She honestly didn’t know what to call the demon she may have accidentally summoned. “He was nice enough to give Mommy a lift to here.”

“Thank you for helping Mommy, Hiccy!” Ariana said happily as they started walking away from the school. Hiccup’s brow shot up at the sudden nickname.

“Well then, shall I poof both of you back?”

“Poof?” the little girl questioned. “Like….” She then proceeded to make some popping sound and gesture wildly with her hands causing Hiccup to chuckle.

“Something like that,” he laughed.

“She won’t be harmed by it?” Astrid asked as she wasn’t sure of how such a mode of transportation would affect children.

“It’s completely safe,” Hiccup assured her. “Besides, I can’t harm anyone without you telling me to.” He gestured to the mark on her hand.

“Oh…. ehm…” Astrid frowned. She really wanted to get to the bottom of this whole contract Hiccup referred too. She then nodded and Hiccup gestured for both to take his hands once they were on a secluded part of the street. Within no time they were back at the apartment and Ariana shouted “Again! Again!”

“Sweety go freshen up. Your father will be here to pick you up in an hour,” Astrid told her daughter. “Hiccup and I need to have a grown up talk.”

“Are you going to ask my mom to marry you? the girl asked innocently causing the demon to sputter.

“Ariana…….” Astrid said in a warning tone as the little girl ran out the room. She then turned to Hiccup who was gaping. “I’m sorry. She tends to……. Want to meddle in my lovelife. Ever since….” But Astrid stopped and then changed the subject. “Now tell me what exactly this contract is.”

“Well it’s pretty straightforward,” Hiccup shrugged. “You summoned me, you get your desires granted and in return I get your soul.” Astrid snapped her head up from the juice she was pouring for both of them causing the glass to overflow. She silently cursed as she now had to was the counter and her sticky hand.

“My soul?!” She looked at Hiccup incredulously.

“Well, I guess it is debatable,” Hiccup said as he poofed a giant leatherbound book out of nowhere. “Let me just check,” Astrid craned her neck and saw that the cover of the book was adorned in golden letters and read ‘Ye Olde Book of Demon Contracts’. She raised a brow as Hiccup leaved through it. He was humming Bohemian Rhapsody absentmindedly until he came towards the paragraph he wanted. “Right…. So… Accidental summons…,” he read. “Well good news and bad news on that.”

“Tell me the bad news first,” Astrid sighed.

“The contract still has to be completed,” Hiccup told her.

“And the good news?” Astrid was at this point still in a daze when she asked.

“You don’t have to give me your soul,” Hiccup shut the large book and it vanished in a puff of black smoke. “But the payment has to be of equal value to the wish.”

“I see,” Astrid mumbled as she gave Hiccup a glass of juice before reaching into her handbag, that she had left on the island counter, and pulling out her knitting set. “I see,” she said again before she started absentmindedly knitting as Hiccup watched her with a raised brow. Ariana came back into the room a few minutes later having changed out of her school uniform. At the sight of her mommy knitting she asked “Mommy who you wanna hit this time?”

“It’s alright…… It’s alright sweety,” Astrid stopped knitting. “Do you have everything for when your dad comes to pick you up?”

“I don’t wanna go,” Ariana huffed. The five year old looked rather funny as she stomped her little foot in the middle of the apartment.

“You know you have to, sweety. Mommy needs to get to work,” Astrid told her calmly.

“But daddy is such a butthead!” the little girl pouted as she sat on the sofa. “He just makes me sit in front of the TV and be quiet.”

Hiccup snorted at the butthead comment when Astrid’s phone rang. She picked it up on the second ring and as she listened to the voice on the other end her demeanour turned increasingly darker. “What do you mean you’re not picking Ariana up?!” she hissed lowly. “We had a deal!”

“Well whose fault is it that I can’t afford a babysitter?” Astrid shot back as the conversation continued.

“She’s your daughter too! Don’t put all this on me!” Astrid shot back just as the line went dead. She smacked her phone onto the counter and picked up her knitting again. “Excuse me for a moment,” Astrid said as she left the room while muttering curses under her breath so that her daughter didn’t hear.

“Told ya Dad’s a butthead,” the little girl stated from the couch. “Mommy’s gonna knit a three sleeved sweater again.”

“What’s with all the knitting?” Hiccup asked as he looked around the room. The coffee table and even the sofa’s pillow cases were covered with knitted stuff.

“Mommy’s thea..tre...thera-shrink….” the girl finally settled on a word. “Says she should focus her anger into a hobby.”

“I see…..” Hiccup mumbled. “Excuse me,” He said before he followed after Astrid. Coming up to her bedroom he knocked before opening it. “Astrid?”

“Hiccup……” Astrid said as she saw the demon poke his head through.

“I was wondering if everything was alright?”

“Everything is just peachy,” she mumbled while going through her closet. “Do you want mittens?” she suddenly asked.

“What?” Hiccup was at a loss with that question.

“I don’t know if Hell gets cold but…. I got mittens.” She held up a set of brightly colored ones.

“Astrid, those don’t have thumbs,” Hiccup mumbled and idly wondered how much stuff the woman had knitted. That must have been a lot of anger. “You know I could watch Ariana for you tonight,” he offered.

“You would? Wait….. Is this part of the contract?”

Hiccup shook his head. “No, I offered ‘cause I wanted to. It seems like you have your hands full.”

“Thank you Hiccup,” Astrid said. “My boss would flip if I took Ariana to the diner again. He’s not that friendly towards kids.”

And so that’s what happened that night. Astrid trusted that Hiccup would be capable enough to watch her daughter and when she got back from her waitressing job she found the pair asleep on the couch. Ariana was snuggled up in the quilt and Astrid stifled a giggle as she saw Hiccup’s sleeping face and hair as he lay on the couch.

“Welcome back M’lady,” Hiccup cracked open an eye as he saw Astrid trying so very hard not to laugh out loud.

“Well you two had an interesting night,” she giggled as Hiccup sat up and helped her bring the little girl to her bed.

Astrid said nothing until they were back in the living room. “Do you need some makeup remover?” she asked as she looked at the small braids all over his mop of auburn hair and the eyeshadow.

“What? Ariana assured me I’d look fabulous,” Hiccup teased before simply changing his appearance back to his old self.

“I’ve brought some food,” Astrid told him while gesturing to the container she had set down on the counter when she came in. “Do demons even eat human food?” she asked now that she thought about it.

“Are you kidding? Human food is a delicacy for us. The food in Hell is so bland.” Hiccup told her as he peered into the container and took out a fry. It was then that Astrid got an idea.

“Say…. Hiccup. Would me providing you with food satisfy this deal between us?”

“Sure,” Hiccup shrugged as he popped another fry in his mouth. “If you ask me the whole soul thing is a bit outdated anyways. So what’s the deal with Mr Butthead anyways?”

“It’s a long story?” Astrid sighed.

“You want me to change him into a slug for you?” Hiccup offered.

“What?! No!” Astrid quickly said.

“Earthworm?”

“No!”

“Seagull?”

“Hiccup there will be no demonic transformations,” Astrid sighed. “Came sit. You might as well know the whole story since I assume you’ll be staying around for a while.”

“You know…. You are about the calmest person I’ve seen go about this whole demonic contract thing,” Hiccup said as he flopped on the couch next to Astrid. “My last one was some mafia boss who freaked that it actually worked.”

“I’ve found that dealing with those judgemental mothers, which includes both my mother and mother in-law as well, to be much harder than living with a demon contract over my head,” Astrid mumbled. “I’m sure you already figured out that I had Ariana pretty young. I was just out of High School when I met Eret at a mixer. One thing led to another and he and I were dating. Five months later I find out that I’m pregnant.” She sighed. “I’ll never call Ariana a mistake. She’s a little angel, but my mother didn’t see it that way,” Astrid muttered as her fist clenched. “To this day she still gets on my case on how a kid ruined my figure and all the plans for my future.”

“Wow……” Hiccup mumbled as he listened attentively.

“But yes, so I was 18 and pregnant. I was an adult and Eret asked me to marry him. You know, he was a different man then.” Astrid sighed. “He genuinely wanted to take responsibility…. Now though…….”

“Eret was a good father, I just don’t have a clue when things went south. A few months ago I found that he had forgotten to log out of his Facebook account. There were……. very suggestive messages between him and another woman.”

“He cheated on you!” Hiccup’s eyes widened. “That’s…… That’s….. I mean look at you. You’re gorgeous and a great Mom and not killing people with cacti! Why wouldn’t someone want to be with you?!”

Astrid blushed and muttered a small thank you before she continued her story. “As you can imagine I was enraged….. Very enraged.” Astrid stated. “I of course confronted Eret about it and he was denying it until I showed him the chat messages and then he blamed me! Can you believe that?! He said the reason he cheated was because I didn’t have so much time for him anymore.”

“I think butthead might be too light a term,” Hiccup muttered as he placed a hand on Astrid’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Tell me about it. You know what he did next?!” Astrid now really started venting. “He actually had the gall to empty our joint-account and move in with his side piece!”

“Then what happened?” Hiccup asked curiously.

“Well, I marched down there at 11 o’clock at night to give him a piece of my mind of course. Needless to say the cops were called.” Astrid groaned. “We got off with a warning but they couldn’t do anything about the money since we were still married and his name was on the account. I just didn’t think he’d be so petty. I had to find a smaller place and I had to sell my other car and buy an older model just to put food on the table the first two weeks. Best part though was…. His side piece dumped him too.”

“You can guess that the relationship quickly headed for a divorce then. He might be a cheating bastard but I at least thought he would want to spend some time with his daughter. This is the second time he stood her up.”

“Okay…… I have to ask. How do those other parents fit in?” Hiccup questioned. “They looked at you like you were some stain that needed removing.”

“You certainly are blunt.” Astrid huffed. “We wanted Ariana to have the best education. So private school it was. Eret and I became acquainted with several other parents there in the PTA.” Astrid explained. “When he filed for divorce he made me seem like the crazy ex in the relationship. Now they are all giving me judgemental stares and waiting for me to break so that I’ll just be some juicy story in their country clubs.”

“Hey….. Hey….” Hiccup said as he presented Astrid with a handkerchief. She blinked a few times before she felt the wetness in her eyes. Astrid hadn’t even realized that she had started crying.

“Thank you,” She mumbled before stifling a yawn.

“Why don’t you go to bed?” Hiccup suggested. “Tomorrow is a new day.” Astrid yawned once more but nodded. She then realized something “You don’t have a place to sleep!”

“I’ll take the couch,” Hiccup told her. “No biggie.”

“Are you sure?” Astrid asked. “It can’t be comfortable.”

“It will be fine.” Hiccup assured her.

“Then let me at least get you a blanket. I recently knitted one with a Pikachu on it.” Astrid patted his leg before standing up. ‘Just how many things did this woman knit?’ Hiccup wondered.

Everything was quiet in the apartment until sometime around 3AM. Hiccup’s eyes snapped open. An ominous feeling ran through the small apartment and he hurried towards Astrid’s bedroom. Throwing the door open he saw a dark wispy blur hover over Astrid, who looked to be in the throes of a nightmare. Hiccup acted without thinking and conjured up a fireball before lopping it at the blur. It hit its mark and there was an ‘Oof’ sound when a figure connected with Astrid’s wall. The nightmare seemed to stop for Astrid and Hiccup approached the figure that was groaning in pain.

“What the hell man!” the mysterious figure grunted as he stood up. “Can’t you see that I’m working here!”

“Snotlout?” Hiccup’s eyes widened.

“Hiccup?” the one named Snotlout said in astonishment before grumbling “This wasn’t in the contract.”

Astrid’s nightmare had calmed down and Hiccup dragged Snotlout out of the room and towards the door. “HEY, HEY!! Take it easy on the horns!” Snotlout winced as his horns were sensitive.

“What made you think you could attack my contractee?!” Hiccup asked looking quite angry. “Do you really think I will let this slide?”

“Hiccup!! Wait!! I didn’t know she was one of yours!” Snotlout struggled as Hiccup finally let go of his horn. The shorter demon rubbed it and then said “If I did I wouldn’t have come close.”

“What were you supposed to do?” Hiccup asked as his eyes narrowed. “And don’t even think about lying. We both know I outrank you and this is me asking nicely.”

“All I know is what’s in my contract,” Snotlout mumbled. “And why did you have to burn a hole in my pants?!”

Hiccup raised a brow and crossed his arms. “I think I know who your employer is. My question still stands. What does he want with Astrid and why resort to demon summoning.”

“Sooooo… you know how we sometimes get these weirdos?” Snotlout sighed. “I think this guy is one of them. He was so convinced that his wife was out to get him that he told me to just make her suffer. To the point her heart gave out.” Hiccup’s eyes narrowed and his pupils turned into slits. “Did he now…” He growled as Snotlout took a step back.

“I swear, if I knew she had a contract with the King of Hell I would have declined the summon!” Snotlout said. “Come on cuz! You know me!”

“Wait…..” Snotlout said as he stared at the other demon. “Does she even know you are THE king of Hell? You didn’t give her that silly business card with that stupid CEO title did you?”

“Shut it Snot,” Hiccup muttered.

“You did, didn’t you!!” Snotlout shouted only to have a hand clamped over his mouth. When Hiccup removed it the shorter demon asked “You like her don’t you?”

“Snot!”

“Hey, probably everybody in Hell thinks you need a girlfriend. If she’s your type…..”

“SNOT!!!”

“Just saying….” Snotlout mumbled.

“Why don’t we pay your employer a visit,” Hiccup suggested before popping both himself and Snotlout over to Eret’s apartment. The apartment curtains were open this time and Hiccup noted the room that was bathed in moonlight.

“Where is he?” Hiccup had little patience for these types of individuals. He might be a devil, heck, he might be the King of devils, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t a moral code in Hell.

“In bed I would think,” Snotlout shrugged not feeling the least bit sorry for his contractee. “I got summoned, got my instructions and he went to bed.” Hiccup didn’t wait and marched up the stairs of the two storey expensive apartment with Snotlout right behind him. He opened the bedroom door without knocking and his eyes narrowed as he saw the sleeping form of Eret. Striding to the bed he proceeded to kick the man out.

“OUCH! HEY!” Eret shouted from the shock of falling on the floor. When the man looked up he saw Snotlout first and said angrily “Mighty fine way to wake up your master. Is the job done?”

“The job won’t be completed,” Hiccup said causing Eret to whip his still sleep fogged head around. “WHO ARE YOU?!”

“I’m normally a nice guy but you just get on my nerves.” Hiccup muttered then produced a scroll in the palm of his hand. “Your contract with Snotlout is nullified. Subsection 7G of article 34 in the Demon handbook states that contracts cannot be fulfilled if the other party has a stronger demon under contract.”

“Just who the hell are you?!” Eret now stood up and Snotlout made a cringe at him challenging the king.

“Explain to me why I shouldn’t exact retribution for you wanting to harm my contractee.” Hiccup growled.

“I don’t have to explain anything!” Eret grumbled. “And I knew I should have used one of the more higher demon summoning techniques.” He said under his breath before looking at Hiccup. “Besides it’s not as if you can hurt me! Astrid probably hasn’t even given you a task to complete.” Eret sounded rather smug. At this point Snotlout really, and I mean really, wanted to whack his head on a desk for being paired with such an incompetent summoner. Even he wasn’t this oblivious to the atmosphere.

“Snotlout go back to hell. This matter is over,” Hiccup ordered and for once Snotlout was more than happy to immediately comply. Snotlout vanished in a puff of smoke faster than a meerkat could duck into a hole and Hiccup narrowed his eyes at Eret. “Consider this a warning,” Hiccup said while snapping his fingers. Soon Eret began to itch all over his body. Astrid only said he was forbidden from transforming people into other things. She never said he couldn’t give someone a bad case of poison ivy rash.

When Hiccup poofed back to Astrid’s apartment he did so right above the couch. With a heavy thunk he fell onto the cushions and snuggled into the blanket that was still here. Hiccup didn’t sleep for very long and when he woke up again it was still extremely early. He decided he might as well have a nice soak in the bathtub Astrid had.

Astrid woke up with a yawn and glanced at her clock which read 5:52AM. She still had to make Ariana’s school lunch before getting her to the Primary. For some reason she felt very lethargic and could barely remember the dream she had last night. Astrid shuffled out of her room at a lazy pace and proceeded across the hall to the bathroom door. It wasn’t locked so she thought nothing of it and opening it with a creak. The sight that greeted her took a while to process. In the bathroom stood Hiccup like a deer caught in the headlights, one foot still in the lavender soap scented bathtub. His hands were gripping a small towel that Astrid was sure would not fit over those very sculpted hips and…. Was that a some damn nice lanky muscle. She quirked a brow before she realized what exactly she was staring so intently at. When everything finally clicked both parties let out a yell and Astrid slammed the door closed and leaned heavily against it. Her mind was jumbled but it certainly wasn’t complaining about the sight just then. ‘And were those horns on Hiccup’s head?’ she asked herself. She might want to find out in the future. ‘Oh please, it wasn’t the horns you were ogling.’ Another part of her mind supplied while sounding quite smug.

To say that things were a bit awkward at breakfast was an understatement. Ariana noticed the tension as she saw her mommy stab the happy bear pancake quite viciously. Astrid dropped Ariana off at school while Hiccup stayed in the apartment. He was still pacing when Astrid returned.

“We need to talk…” Both said at the same time.

“You first,” They said at the same time again.

“Astrid… uhm….” Hiccup mumbled.

“You….. Uhm… it was no big deal,” Astrid muttered and then backtracked. “Not that I’m saying it wasn’t…...big,” Astrid turned scarlet at the double entendre and so did Hiccup. “Uhm….”

“Look, it was an accident, we could just move on.” Hiccup suggested as he felt it become more awkward for Astrid.

“Yeah...uh...yeah,” Astrid was still blushing.

“There is still a matter we need to discuss,” Hiccup stated. “Last night a demon contracted by your soon to be Ex paid you a visit. I didn’t want to say anything when Ariana was here in case it made her frightened.

“Is Ariana in danger?” Astrid asked as her eyes widened.

“No, no. But just in case I sent my familiar Toothless to watch over her. He’ll be totally invisible at her school.”  
Astrid eyed Hiccup when he mumbled “well as invisible as a chubby little dragon can be.”

“What did…what did the demon want?” Astrid suspected she knew what it was about but wanted Hiccup’s thoughts on the situation.

“He was sent to kill you, Astrid. Eret really wants you dead. He just can’t use demons now since you’re contracted to me.”

“But you think he’ll use other means?” She asked.

Hiccup nodded. “Just what do you have on the guy that makes him want to get at you?” Astrid was silent for a few moments before mumbling.

“I think I know,” she said before heading to her room. Hiccup waited and when she came back she had a stack of files with her.

“When Eret emptied our account I didn’t have any money to hire a divorce lawyer, and he’s intent on dragging this before a judge.” Astrid sighed. “So I did some digging on my own over the months and uncovered that he’s been running a pyramid scheme for a year or so now. That’s where all the extra income came from.” Astrid gave a self-decrepitating laugh. “And here I thought he got a raise at work.”

“Why haven’t you turned these into the authorities?”

“Would you believe that I still had my hopes up?” Astrid mumbled. “I keep thinking, maybe he’ll have a change of heart. Maybe he won’t abandon Ariana.” Hiccup nodded.

“You know….. Sometimes, people won’t change back to who they were.” He said quietly. “But from what I’ve seen, he couldn’t have sunk lower last night.”

“Should I… turn these in?” Astrid asked as she looked at the stack of papers. “What if he gets all this dismissed?”

“You just need one very shrewd lawyer.”

“But I can’t afford one.”

“But you got one.” Hiccup told her with a wink. “I can bury him.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re literally the Devil’s advocate.” Astrid muttered which caused Hiccup to guffaw.

“All the paperwork that gets piled up on my desk in Hell was good training.” He laughed.

“Hiccup…… if you pull this off… I will give you food forever!” Astrid promised.

“Well now that is a very fine deal I just can’t overlook.” Hiccup smiled as he held out his hand. “I might just have to stay quite a while here.”

Astrid blushed but nodded as she shook his hand. The deal was struck and then Astrid asked “So what are you going to do first?”

“I was thinking of giving a friendly demon over at the IRS a call. I’m sure a couple of excruciating audits will start the ball rolling.” Hiccup stated as he eyed the pile of files with a certain amount of glee. “You are just going to love Mala.”

**Epilogue**

Astrid and Hiccup were standing on a street corner eating pretzels while watching the chaos unfold on the other side of the street. There were police cars parked in front of the building where Eret worked as an accountant.

“I can’t believe it only took you two months.” Astrid mumbled. “And even the divorce is final now.”

“Well Eret wasn’t really the sharpest tool in the shed on where to hide money.” Hiccup shrugged.

“So…..eh…” Astrid asked as she watched Eret be placed in the back of a police cruiser while agents walked out with boxes. “The contract is complete right?”

“Yeah….” Hiccup said with a frown. He had gotten used to the little apartment and loved hanging out with Astrid and Ariana. “I have to go back to Hell to finish all the paperwork that’s been piling up.”

At Astrid’s frown he added in reassurance “but I’ll come back to visit!”

“Right…. The food,” she mumbled, remembering her end of the bargain.

“I meant I’ll come back to visit you and Ariana.” Hiccup said as he looked Astrid in the eye. “And maybe… take you on a date?”

Astrid blushed and then nodded. Her pretzel was forgotten as Hiccup pulled her into a kiss. He had certainly been wanting to do that for more than a month now.

**\---------THE END?---------**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Black Friday and Furbies**

Hiccup had come to visit like promised. He had come to visit many times and had already had many wonderful dates with Astrid. It was after Thanksgiving dinner at the small apartment that Astrid and Hiccup flopped on the couch, completely stuffed. Ariana went to bed earlier leaving the two alone.

“Oh my…. That turkey was good,” Hiccup complimented. He didn’t, or maybe couldn’t, move.

“Don’t go into a food coma just yet,” Astrid told him. “We have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Why?” Hiccup mumbled.

“Because honey….” Astrid said as she leaned in close and got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Ariana and I are going Black Friday shopping.” Hiccup raised a brow “And we need a strong man to carry everything to the car.”

“So that’s why…” Hiccup mumbled as he gulped. He had heard of this Black Friday shopping but never actually experienced it.

“Yes, the alimony that Eret now has to pay me should go to getting new clothes for Ariana, and we also need to replace some furniture. Now I just have to figure out how to get everything to fit into our old car,” Astrid mused.

“You know….. I could just let you use my expandable bag.” Hiccup shrugged as he showed her his small messenger bag that he carried with him everywhere. Astrid thought it was just an ordinary bag and her eyes widened when Hiccup pulled out a microwave out of it.

“How the… who the.. WHAT?!” Astrid sputtered as she inspected Hiccup’s bag much to his amusement. Her head then snapped back up and Hiccup wondered now if it was a good idea to show her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had this earlier?” Astrid asked as she watched the microwave go back into the bag. “And why would you need a microwave?”

“I have a coffin in there somewhere as well and sunblock…. Just in case I run into any drunk vampires.” Hiccup shrugged. “Never hurts to be prepared.”

“Vampire….” Astrid raised a brow but first she had other priorities to worry about than more supernatural creatures. “This is coming with us tomorrow. How much space does it have?”

“Well…… I guess I can fit a house in it…. Astrid…. Astrid no!” Hiccup said as he concluded what she wanted to do.

“And here I was wondering if I had to make several trips from the apartment to the stores. This will save so much time!” Hiccup groaned as Astrid patted his shoulder.

That was basically how Hiccup ended accompanying Astrid and Ariana through an IKEA store. “Look sweety, they have a sale on beds!” Astrid said as she held her daughter’s hand while pointing.

“Mommy we need shelves not beds,” Ariana rolled her eyes as she was already used to her mother’s wandering eyes when shopping. “This way mommy!” the little girl tugged. Hiccup chuckled at the cute sight as Astrid checked out the price tags on everything. So far she had already shoved a new washer and dryer into Hiccup’s bag as well as a hot plate, waffle maker, blowdryer, and a curling iron at the last store.

“Oooh end tables are 60% off.” Astrid said causing both Ariana and Hiccup to groan.

“Uncle Hiccy sit. I’ll get mommy to the shelves.” Ariana nudged his leg.

“Now young lady. You shouldn’t be the only one dealing with her…… shopping eccentricities.” Hiccup mumbled.

“What does… eccenf….eccentrac-Uhm What does that word mean?” The little girl asked as both kept an eye on Astrid as she moved from the end tables onto the wardrobes.

“It’s…. It means acting odd.” Hiccup explained to the little girl.

“Like the time mommy tried to kill that seagull?” Ariana asked as they followed behind Astrid who was oblivious to their conversation.

“What seagull?” Hiccup asked with a raised brow.

“Mommy and I went to the beach,” Ariana explained. “I was making a sand castle THISSSSS BIG!” She gestured with her hands. “Mommy was munching on a donut when this fat seagull swooped in and took it.”

Hiccup used his hand to stifle the laugh that was bubbling up. “Mommy took the thermos and tried going WHACK WHACK WHACK!” Ariana made a hitting motion in the air. “And then mommy ran after the birdy.”

Hiccup couldn’t take it anymore and doubled over. He clutched his stomach in laughter as he couldn’t seem to get the image of Astrid battling a seagull out of his mind now.

“GUYS!!! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!” Astrid happily said as she came back carrying two rolled up rugs. “I also found the shelves and had them sent to the register…….. Hiccup why are you laughing?” Hiccup took one look at Astrid before he started laughing again.

Astrid rolled her eyes at Hiccup’s antics. “Oh come on you great big lug.” She joked. “You haven’t even bought anything yet. Doesn’t the King of Hell need some new massage chair or something?”

“Wait how did you know I was the King of Hell?!” Hiccup mumbled. “I was looking for the right time to tell you.”

“Mala spilled the beans on Girls night out.” Astrid shrugged. “I think it was on our……. fifth Margarita.”

“You aren’t mad that I didn’t tell you?” Hiccup asked as they walked to the registers with Ariana swinging from their hands between them.

“I already figured you must be some bigshot in Hell when you showed me that CEO title.” Astrid shrugged.

“Most people are mad that I downplay the whole thing.”

“Well I’m not most people,” Astrid flashed him a smile.

“No you aren’t. Most people won’t use cacti as weapons.” he laughed as Astrid playfully swatted him.

“Mommy where to next?” Ariana asked after they got out of IKEA. They had found a spot where there weren’t any people and Astrid was shoving the rugs and shelves into Hiccup’s expandable bag. The little girl found it funny to watch all morning. “Can I get a new toy?”

“A bit later sweety,” Astrid said. “We still need to go to the mall and get some clothes and shoes.”

“But that is soooo boring,” Ariana pouted. “You take forever with shoes!”

“I do not!” Astrid rolled her eyes.

“You dooooo!!!” Ariana laughed.

“Why don’t we see when we get to the mall.” Astrid said. “Maybe if you ask nicely, Hiccup may take you to buy a new toy. But only one.” Ariana turned towards the demon with big round pleading eyes.

Hiccup gulped as those pleading eyes bore into him. “Alright! Alright! Just as long as your mother does not need you to fit any clothes.”

“YEAY!!!” Ariana cheered.

Once they were piled into Astrid’s old car, which was a black Honda Civic station wagon from the 80’s, they drove to the mall not so far away. It was a hassle to find a parking spot though and they had to walk quite a distance. Hiccup was giving Ariana a piggyback ride which the little girl seemed to enjoy. Once they entered the mall Astrid’s eyes glimmered at all the sale signs.

“Mommy’s in LA LA land now.” The little girl pouted.

“Hiccup what size shoes do you wear?” Astrid asked as she rolled up her sleeves. Hiccup didn’t really get why she had worn sneakers up till now. Once Hiccup had told her his shoe size she was off. She gave Ariana a kiss on the forehead and told her to be a good girl before jumping into the hoard that had assembled itself in front of a store

“Uncle Hiccy can we go exploring?” Ariana, who didn’t seem all that concerned about her mother’s behavior, asked. She patted Hiccup’s auburn hair with her tiny hands as they made their way through the mall.

“How about we go in there?” Hiccup asked as he put Ariana down. The little girl squealed at the sight of the toy store. She grabbed Hiccup’s hand and tugged it. Hiccup laughed as he was led inside.

Ariana led him to the Hot Wheels and Lego aisles instead of the Barbie aisle and Hiccup let her browse while he spotted a familiar figure.

“Snotlout?” Hiccup asked as he saw the shorter demon in a store employee uniform. “What are you doing wearing that?”

“Business has been slow for me,” The shorter demon told him.

“I know some demons moonlight but… why a toy store?” Hiccup asked as he kept one eye on Ariana. The little girl was looking at all the toy cars and trying to pick one out.

“Well… I told them I’d be able to sell their excess stash of Furbies…..” Snotlout groaned. “BUT NO ONE WANTS THEM!! THEY ARE UGLY!!” Hiccup nodded and was about to say something when Ariana’s pained cry reached his ears. His head snapped towards her so fast that Snotlout thought he might get whiplash. There he saw Ariana in the aisle whimpering as a bigger boy yanked her pigtails.

“HEY!” Hiccup said as he marched towards them. “Let her go!”

The boy was startled by Hiccup’s approach and let go of Ariana’s hair. The five year old ran to her ‘uncle Hiccy’ and clutched his leg.  
“Ariana what happened?” Hiccup crouched down as he eyed the kid that had been bullying the little girl. “He said no girls allowed!” Ariana sniffled. “But I like cars!”

“And you are allowed to like cars.” Hiccup patted the girl’s back a bit awkwardly. He wasn’t the best at giving reassurance.

“David where are you?” A gruff male voice rang out and Hiccup saw a man approach from the other end of the isle. The boy who had been bullying Ariana ran up to the man and told him something that caused the man’s gaze to darken. He glared at the little girl but Hiccup made sure Ariana didn’t see it. “Leave that riffraff alone.” Hiccup heard the man mutter as he grabbed the boy’s arm and led them out the store.

“Ariana go pick out your toy,” Hiccup told the girl after he dried her tears. “Let uncle Hiccy handle the rest.”

Ariana sniffled but nodded. She was back at Hiccup’s side with a set of 15 toy cars in one. Hiccup meanwhile had been talking to Snotlout who looked very happy.

“You got a deal man!” Snotlout flashed him the thumbs up as they went to the register. Afterwards Hiccup and Ariana hit the food court and the indoor playground. Astrid found them later while Ariana was in the ballpit. She saw her little girl playing happily and put her mountain of shopping bags on the bench where Hiccup sat.

“So……” Astrid quirked a brow.

‘Soooooo?” Hiccup answered back.

“There was an army of Furbies chasing a man through the mall.” Astrid crossed her arms. “Are you going to tell me you had nothing to do with all of that?”

“Well I didn’t animate them, nor sic them on the man, if that is what you’re implying.” Hiccup shrugged. Afterall he had just bought them. Snotlout animating them was none of his doing.

**\----------May the Prices be with you on your shopping sprees!-------**

**AN: I was so surprised by all the response on this story that I decided to do a Black Friday chapter. I might add XMAS and NEW YEARS chapters as well but that will be as far as I go for this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Mommy got chased by a reindeer**

Hiccup was rifling through Astrid’s fridge when the door slammed shut. He looked up to see Ariana sniffle and dry her eyes while Astrid looked murderous.

“What happened?” Hiccup asked as Ariana wordlessly gave him a hug before heading to her room with a sniffle. Astrid had meanwhile placed her handbag on the counter with a thud and proceeded to take her knitting needles out.

“Oh no…. Astrid, honey……” Hiccup said as his girlfriend huffed before looking at him.

“I want to put sheep in a particular someone’s car,” She muttered.

“What happened?” Hiccup asked as all thought of food was forgotten.

“You know the Christmas pageant at the school the day before Winter break,” Astrid asked and Hiccup nodded. “You know how Ariana got the lead role.”

“Of course,” Hiccup nodded. How could he forget, it was all the little girl talked about.

“Well she isn’t the lead anymore,” Astrid’s eyes darkened as she told him the news. “And I might have been escorted off the school premises by security.”

“Wait?! What? Why!” Was all Hiccup could utter. Now he was insanely curious about what went on at the rehearsal.

“One of the mothers found out their ‘little darling’ had been cast as a pinecone in the play and threw a damn hissy fit. They demanded the lead role for their kid even though said kid couldn’t sing and was quite happy to play the pinecone.” Astrid grumbled.

“And the teacher allowed this?” Hiccup asked with a raised brow.

“She had no choice Hiccup!” Astrid groaned as she flopped down on the sofa. “That kid’s parents are major donors to the school. Of course they would get their way.”

‘That doesn’t explain the security……” Hiccup mentioned.

“Let’s just say I let my displeasure be known.” Astrid stated. “Another thing to put a damper on this day, my mother called. She wants us to come for dinner on Christmas eve.”

“Is a Christmas dinner really so bad?” Hiccup asked with a raised brow.

“This is my mother we are talking about Hiccup,” Astrid deadpanned. “The woman is still sour that I got pregnant.”

“Then just don’t go.” Hiccup told her.

“You’ve never met my mother,” Astrid grumbled. “If Ariana and I don’t show up she’ll be harping at me until after New Years.”

“Want me to come with you?” Hiccup asked.

“I didn’t know you did the whole Christmas thing, being a demon and all.” Astrid remarked with a raised brow.

“A holiday where a demon can probably get into a food coma…..” Hiccup winked at her causing Astrid to guffaw.

“Which reminds me, I’m making yaknog for today.” Astrid told him. “And I should probably go check on Ariana.”

“I’ll go check on her.” Hiccup said as he stood up. “I am wondering what recipe you are calling yaknog though.”

Hiccup went to Ariana’s room and knocked. He heard a sniffle come from behind the door and he opened it a crack to poke his head in. “Ariana?” Hiccup asked as he saw the girl hugging a pillow.

“Uncle Hiccy,” The name came out more of a sob as Hiccup walked into the room and looked at the little girl with concern. He made his way towards the bed and sat down on the edge. “Come here,” he indicated and Ariana cuddled against him.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Hiccup said as he knew how much the little girl had practiced. “They had no right to do that to you.”

“Mommy said that too…….” Ariana mumbled. “Right before she punched the other lady.” Hiccup raised a brow and then he understood the need for security. Astrid would probably be knitting tonight again.

“I just wanted to sing my song,” Ariana said rather quietly. “Mommy said it was a good Christmas song.”

“And I’m sure it is.” Hiccup assured the little girl. “Hey I have an idea. Why don’t you perform your song for your mom and me.”

“Really?” Ariana perked up at that. Big eyes looked up at Hiccup who said “Sure, let me just tell your mom.”

“Yeay!” Ariana said gleefully as Hiccup left to inform Astrid. He found his girlfriend in the kitchen jamming something in the blender and having a hard time to close the lid.

“You need any help?” He asked.

“Nope I got this!” Astrid said triumphantly as the lid closed with a click. She then turned the blender on and Hiccup told her about letting Ariana do her performance here so that they could watch. “She seems to like the idea,” Hiccup had commented. “She was jumping up and down.”

That was how the two found themselves seated on the couch and facing Ariana. The little girl cleared her throat and began to sing her part. “ _Gather 'round and I will tell the story of a Christmas bell. That used to shine and chime and ring and why we called him Ding-A-Ling._ ” Astrid smiled as she heard her daughter sing and she snuggled close to Hiccup on the couch as the song continued. When the little girl was done both adults clapped enthusiastically.

“This calls for some yaknog.” Astrid said as she stood up and went to the fridge.

“I’m good mommy!” Ariana called out quickly as she flopped on the couch.

“Okay then, two cups of yaknog coming right up,” Astrid cheerfully said.

“Uncle Hiccy,” Ariana tugged his shirt sleeve.

“Yes?” Hiccup asked as he turned towards the child.

“Run……” the little girl whispered in a rather ominous tone.

“What?” Hiccup mumbled as Ariana swung her tiny legs onto the carpet and darted out of the living room. Astrid watched her daughter leave as she came back with two cups of grey liquid. Hiccup took one cup gingerly and peered at it before taking a sip. He wished he hadn’t. He really wished he hadn’t. Hiccup covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes widened.

“Hiccup……..Are you alright?” Astrid asked and Hiccup had to swallow to answer her.

“Just…. Uhm…… I’m fine,” He managed to croak out before dashing to the bathroom.

“Hiccup!” Astrid shouted and then looked at the yaknog before mumbling to herself. “Did I put in too much pepper?”

With exception of the “yaknog’ incident, the December days passed rather quietly. Soon it was Christmas eve and the day of the family dinner. Hiccup poofed into Astrid’s living room only to startle her.

“Hiccup don’t do that!” Astrid held one hand against her chest while Hiccup noted that the other held a pair of small jeans.

“I don’t think those will fit you anymore,” Hiccup joked and Astrid swatted at him.

“Careful mister, I have a Bedazzler and I’m not afraid to use it!” Astrid smirked.

“Sooo…. What are you doing?” Hiccup asked as the demon got very curious.

“Adding some flair to Ariana’s pants for tonight,” Astrid told him as she showed him the bedazzled jeans pockets.

“I thought you said your mother didn’t like that stuff.” Hiccup mumbled.

“Oh, she doesn’t,” Astrid lifted a brow. “All the better reason to do it. It might get us out of the dinner faster.” She added with a wink.

“Soooo….. What’s your mom’s deal with…..” Hiccup gestured to the pants.

“Oh, mom has this weird idea that ladies should dress their best. And apparently bejeweled pants aren’t good enough.” Astrid shrugged. “If I went somewhere I always had to look like a proper lady.” Astrid made air quotes when she said proper and rolled her eyes. “Now dressing like that obviously didn’t make me popular in High School. I looked like a snobbish nerd to put it mildly.”

“What happened?”

“I used to stash a pair of ripped jeans and combat boots in my locker at school.” Astrid smiled. “Mom blew a gasket when she found out.”

Astrid made a face and Hiccup assumed there was more to this story. The day passed relatively quickly for Astrid, Hiccup and Ariana. Soon they were dressed up and Astrid held a bag of presents. They had decided to forgo the usual demonic poofing in favor of driving to her parent’s home. During the drive Ariana sang along to several carols that played on the radio. She was seated in the backseat with a seagull plushie that Hiccup had gotten her and not really making a fuzz. It was nearly 4:30 when they reached their destination.

Astrid took a deep breath as she grabbed her stuff while Ariana happily jumped on the snow that had fallen on the ground. “Look mommy! A real reindeer!” Ariana pointed and both Astrid and Hiccup looked at the neighbour’s yard to see that there was indeed a reindeer in a pen on the yard. “He’s so cute!” Ariana shouted as the little girl ran to the hedge to try and get a better look.

“Actually, that’s a she.” Hiccup told the child. Ariana turned to him to ask how he knew.

“See the antlers,” Hiccup scooped her up and pointed to the small antlers on the reindeer. “Females keep their antlers in the winter not males.”

“Uhuh uhuh,” The little girl nodded along.

“Since when did you become an expert on reindeer?” Astrid asked with a raised brow.

“Since the twins kept smuggling them into the castle. I now have a herd in the courtyard.

“You’re talking bout the same twins that painted all the armors in your place pink?” Astrid asked to be sure and Hiccup nodded. She certainly remembered him being huffy that day.

The trio then headed towards the door and Astrid rang the doorbell. “Coming!” Could be heard from the other side and the door opened to reveal a portly man with thinning blond hair. “Astrid!” The man shouted before enveloping her in a tight hug. Hiccup supposed that this was her father. “Pumpkin!” The man then said as he gave Ariana a hug which she returned happily. “Now who is this?” The man asked as he finally laid eyes upon Hiccup.

“Daddy, this is Hiccup, my boyfriend.” Astrid introduced and Hiccup gulped under her father’s scrutinizing gaze. King of Hell or not, he would still rather face a gigantic fire-breathing reptile than be scrutinized. Hiccup didn’t show it but meeting the parents tended to unnerve him.

“Richard who is it?” Came from inside the house.

“It’s Astrid!” The man stopped his scrutinizing and turned his head to shout back.

“Well don’t let them stay in the cold.” Came the exasperated comment. As the trio was shown inside an older woman, resembling Astrid, appeared from the kitchen area.

“Hiya granny!” Ariana greeted as she continued babbling “Did you see the cute reindeer?”

Astrid’s mother however pursed her lips in a thin line and her husband decided to take Ariana into the den to show her something. When the little girl was out of earshot Astrid crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Now what are you unhappy about?” She asked.

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Her mother muttered. “That damn animal has been keeping me up at night.” She then took a look at Hiccup and asked “Who is this?”

“Hiccup, my boyfriend.” Astrid told her simply as she proceeded to set the gifts she got her parents under the tree in the living room.

“You’ve only been divorced a couple of months and already got another?” Her mother huffed, not even greeting Hiccup.

“Well I’m certainly not going to pine over that lying ass.” Astrid told her mother bluntly and Hiccup suddenly felt as if this was like a shootout at the okay-corral.

Hiccup knew Astrid could handle herself and then quickly said as he felt the tension building in the room “I’ll….. Uhm…. just go hang out with your father.” Neither of the women broke eye contact and Hiccup slipped out of there without much difficulty. From what Hiccup had observed so far, Astrid’s parents seemed like night and day. Before he was completely out of earshot he heard Astrid’s mother say “And what in blue blazes is Ariana wearing!”

Hiccup found Ariana and Richard in the basement turned den looking at an old album. He knocked and asked if he could join them.

“Grab a beer,” Richard said while indicating towards the mini fridge. “Those two going at it again?” The man asked him.

“You know?” Hiccup asked.

“My wife, Gillian, can be…………. a force of nature. It’s either her way or no way.” The man gave a sigh. Hiccup spent nearly forty minutes talking with Astrid’s father and they were soon called upstairs.

When Hiccup came back up the women were quiet but Astrid had a stormy look on her face. “You alright?” Hiccup asked quietly. Astrid had made him promise not to intervene or turn her mother into a small squishable creature, or one that Toothless could eat. Speaking of the small chubby dragon, she hadn’t seen him for a month and wondered where the little dragon had gone. The table was decked for five and ladened with food, including a very bronze basted turkey.

The dinner itself started out quiet until Astrid’s mother asked “So what do you do for a living Hiccup?”

“I’m… eh… a manager at a company.” Hiccup answered. He and Astrid had previously discussed a cover story since the whole King of Hell thing probably wouldn’t make a very good impression.

“A Manager? At your age?” Gillian asked sceptically.

“It’s a family business.” Hiccup answered and he was speaking the truth. Running Hell was indeed a family business.

“Well from accountant to dating a Manager. At least you traded up Astrid.” Her mother commented nonchalantly.

“Mom!” Astrid warned as her cheeks burned.

“Don’t mom me.” Gillian retorted. “Your delinquent behaviour got you in enough trouble in the past.”

“Excuse me?” Astrid said as she slammed her utensils down. Hiccup noticed Richard instinctively scoot backwards with his chair. “If you haven’t noticed, I have a place of my own, a job and a family. I am the very definition of a responsible adult!”

“You’re also not even thirty and divorced with a kid.” Her mother told her. “You got to know how to keep a man.” Astrid’s brow twitched as her mother started the nagging again. “I’m frankly not surprised that Eret left you.”

“Eret’s infidelity and his crimes had nothing to do with me.” Astrid hissed back and then said in a low voice so that Ariana couldn’t hear “It isn’t my problem that he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

The two women had a stare off again until Ariana’s voice interrupted them. “Mommy…… I don’t feel so good.” The little girl said as stopped eating. “My tummy hurts.”

“Honey, mommy will be with you in a bit. Why don’t you go lie down.” Astrid told her and Ariana was about to get up when Gillian interrupted.

“Not until she eats all her vegetables Astrid. You know the rules. You can only leave the table once your plate is clean.”

“Mother not now.” Astrid said. “Can’t you see she isn’t well. She might vomit.”

Gillian gave a huff and said “I doubt it. Can’t you see what she’s doing. You gotta stop coddling that girl Astrid. She needs a firm hand.”

“She’s five mom!” Astrid said as she placed her napkin on the table to check on Ariana.

“My point exactly!” Gillian reasoned. “You got to be firm with her otherwise she’ll end up like you!”

The silence that followed that statement was so profound you could possibly hear a pin drop. Richard sucked in a breath while Hiccup got up and went to Ariana. Astrid’s glare was directed at her mother and then she broke it by saying “Hiccup grab Ariana’s backpack. We are leaving.”

“What?!” Gillian said as she too stood up. “You aren’t going anywhere Astrid.”

“Watch me!”

“Astrid, you will not talk back to me like that in my own home!”

“Good thing we’re leaving then.” Astrid shot back. She grabbed her purse and then said “I let you rag on me all you wanted but no one…. NO ONE! Tells me how to raise my daughter! I am not staying any longer and having her be subjected to your toxicity,” She wagged her finger before turning to her father. “Dad it was nice seeing you again. I’ll call you.” She then turned back to her mother “I won’t call you.” With that said Astrid proceeded usher the three of them out the door.

Gillian however wasn’t done yet with her rant and followed after them. She was on the sidewalk as Astrid started her car and started pulling out of the driveway. Her mother was still saying things and Astrid rolled down her window and shouted “Will you for once shut up!”

Gillian sputtered and that gave Astrid time to get the car on the road. “Gods I wish mom would learn not to be so…. So… UGH!!” Astrid said and Hiccup discreetly did some demon magic. The pen of the reindeer was opened and the deer saw Gillian on the sidewalk. Taking an immediate dislike towards the woman, the reindeer charged.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH” Gillian shouted, while Richard started guffawing, and Ariana said as she peered out of the car window “Look mommy, your mommy is being chased by the cute reindeer!”

 

**AN: The song Ariana sings in this story is originally sung by Lynn Anderson and titled _Ding-a-Ling the Christmas Bell_**

**AN2: Tune in on New Year for the final installment of this story Chapter 4: Going out with a Plasma blast**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Going out with a Plasma blast**

Astrid was a bit upset after how her visit with her mom went and Hiccup decided she could use a break. So he did all the chores when they got back, pampered Astrid, put Ariana to bed, and they ended the night with a Horror movie marathon. Krampus was playing and it was Hiccup who was hiding behind a knitted pillow as the suspenseful music reached a crescendo. Hiccup scooted closer to Astrid who scoffed. By the end of the movie Hiccup was nearly sitting on Astrid who just proceeded to roll her eyes.

“Thank you, Hiccup,” Astrid said after the movie ended. She snuggled close and the two lay on the couch in relative silence. “You didn’t have to try and cheer me up but I do like that you did.” She then smiled at Hiccup. “Besides it’s not every day you see the King of Hell squeak.”

Hiccup merely rolled his eyes when Astrid spoke again. “So you know Dagur, my next door neighbour, is throwing a little get together on the roof on New Year’s,” she mentioned to him. “He asked if I knew some people to liven up the party. Apparently the tenants in this building are ‘drab’ according to him.”

“Drab?” Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well you have Drago who lives on the second floor. “He’s a total crazy cat man, Mildew in this hall. He’s the sourpuss, might be the actual Grinch now that I think about it.” This caused Hiccup to laugh as she started ticking off more names. “Atali is a workaholic, Alvin is a nerd, Throk……..” Astrid paused for a moment “You know, I have no clue what Throk does.”

“I…. might know a few people that would liven up the party.” Hiccup said as a mischievous thought occurred to him.

“Great! I’ll tell Dagur in the morning. He’s dead set on BBQing that night.” Astrid stated.

“It’s winter. How the hell is he going to BBQ?” Hiccup asked.

“He’s Dagur,” Astrid shrugged. “Where there is a will, he will find a way.”

The days passed relatively easily afterwards. Astrid didn’t mention her mother again although Hiccup was sure there were some calls on her answering machine. Those had been promptly deleted. Soon it was the 31st of December and the date of Dagur’s New Years party.

“So are you ever going to tell me who is showing up for Dagur’s party?” Astrid asked as she grabbed the beer, chips and homemade guacamole they were bringing onto the roof for everyone. Hiccup was saved from answering when a small portal opened and a black blur attached itself to his face, knocking him over.

“Hummfffhummmmssfffummm!” Hiccup exclaimed as he tried to pry said black blur off his face, which turned out to be Toothless, his dragon familiar.

“Toothy!!!!” Ariana shouted as she came into the kitchen in her pyjamas. The little girl quickly rushed to the chubby dragon and squashed him. Toothless struggled but Ariana had a firm grip on the small dragon.

“Bud, where have you been?” Hiccup asked as he made no move to help the little dragon out of Ariana’s grip. Toothless nudged his head as a small portal opened and out flew a small white dragon that appeared to be from the same species as Toothless. “A Lightfury?” Hiccup’s eyes widened before he gave Toothless a mischievous grin. “Toothless have you been wooing the ladies again?”

Toothless gave a yip in affirmation as the other small dragon looked around. “Mommy can I go play with them?” Ariana asked. The little girl even turned on the puppy-dog eyes when Astrid said that it was already past her bedtime.

“Astrid, don’t you think that she can sleep in tomorrow?” Hiccup asked as he bent down to whisper “We could spend more time together.”

Astrid blushed and then looked at her daughter and then the two small dragons. “Okay, but you go to sleep after we come back.” Astrid said. She did know that her daughter would be asleep before then. Ariana nodded and then dragged Toothless by the tail to her room. The Lightfury followed at a leisurely pace, unperturbed by the yelp her dragon boyfriend was making.

“I still say we should have gotten a babysitter,” Astrid mumbled.

“Don’t worry. I put a monitoring charm up in her room and a few others through the house.” Hiccup stated. “She’ll be fine. It will alert me if anything happens.” Just then there was a knock on Astrid’s front door. Astrid went to open it and she was immediately pulled into a hug by Mala who looked a bit tipsy already.

“Astrid honey!!! Happy New Years!!” Mala shouted. Astrid could see three other people behind her. Two looked like twins while the other was really short.

“Astrid you already know Mala,” Hiccup said. “This is Snotlout,” He introduced and the short demon bowed dramatically. “And the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut.” The twins gave a salute as their other hand held a near bursting bag each. Astrid heard the clinking of glass from the bag and raised a brow.

“We brought alcohol!” The twins exclaimed. “And one bottle of Thornston surprise.” Ruffnut added.

“Thornston surprise?” Astrid mouthed to Hiccup who just laughed.

“Guaranteed to make even the most sour demon do a jig,” Hiccup explained with a laugh.

When the group made it to the roof they saw that the party was already in full swing. Snow was falling lightly. People were dressed in warm clothes and some were sitting around the portable fire pit while others were near the food and drink table. Astrid had her arm around Hiccup’s and they looked around. Snotlout, the twins and mala had all dispersed to find some entertainment.

“Is that a flamethrower?” Hiccup asked as he spotted Dagur behind the grill. The man was expertly flipping sausages, steaks, and if Hiccup was correct, a whole chicken. The flamethrower roared to life as the redhead whistled a catchy tune.

The party only got rowdier from then on as more tenants joined. The twins had become the unofficial bartenders. Astrid noticed that they had served Mildew their ‘Thornston surprise’ drink and now the old grump was doing the limbo as the other tenants cheered him on.

Atali who came to the party straight from work was still dressed in her business suit. Snotlout had blushed before grabbing some punch and making his way to her. Astrid couldn’t help overhearing some of the pickup lines he used.

“Are you an alarm clock?....Because you disturbed my sleeping heart,” Got a raised brow from Atali. Snotlout quickly followed it up with “Are you a keyboard?...because your my type,” Which did elicit a giggle out of the woman. Emboldened by the giggle Snotlout continued. The short demon was actually surprised that he hadn’t gotten a slap yet. “Did you eat sugar today?... Because your smile is so sweet,” Was the one that Snotlout wasn’t sure about. But apparently Atali liked it and then whispered something in his ear before they were off. Off to where, Astrid didn’t want to know.

Hiccup and Astrid joined Alvin, Heather and Fishlegs near the fire pit. The three were making smores while Alvin was sharing movie trivia stories with Fishlegs. Heather, Fishlegs’ fiance and Dagur’s sister merely rolled her eyes before she saddled up near Astrid. “Why don’t we let the boys talk shop.” She suggested as both watched Hiccup join them. “Us ladies in the building thought to hold a monthly poker or Canasta night. You in?”

“I haven’t played poker in years,” Astrid commented. “I don’t think I know Canasta.”

“Oh it’s easy but Camicazi could explain it better,” Heather looked around for a moment before she spotted the other blonde woman. Said blond woman was clearly drunk and dancing Salsa to Pop music. “Maybe we should wait for that explanation when Cami isn’t so……. Uhm… distracted.”

Drago, the resident crazy cat man, had actually livened up and was shaking his tush to the rhythm as well.

“Milady, may I have this dance?” Hiccup cut in as the beat changed to a slow dance. Dagur, still by the grill could be heard shouting “Five minutes till midnight everyone!”

Astrid took the offered hand and Hiccup pulled her in a twirl. The couple easily danced upon the makeshift dance floor. Several other tenants joined them. Snotlout dipped Atali while Fishlegs whirled with Heather. The twins were doing some type of ballet and Mala had a rose in her mouth as she was tangoing with Throk.

Soon the clock was about to strike midnight and the couples and other tenants counted down.

“5…….”

“4….”

“3..”

“2…”

At “1!” Everyone cheered. Hiccup pulled Astrid close and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. He was about to pull back when Astrid dragged him down for a second kiss as fireworks went off in the distance.

When the new year was rung in Mildew raised his red plastic cup filled with a second helping of ‘Thornston surprise’ and yelled “EVERYBODY CONGA!!!!”

Meanwhile, back in Ariana’s room the Lightfury, now with a pink ribbon around her neck, was curled onto the pillow next to the sleeping child. Toothless, however, wasn’t so lucky as he was under said sleeping child. The Nightfury huffed and puffed as he was flattened into the mattress again.

**THE END**

 

**AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!! I WILL SEE ALL YOU LOVELY READERS IN 2019!**


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